The Hang Seng index fell 0.5 percent, to 21,882.15, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.3 percent, to 9,659.88 points.

There’s little sign China’s economy has bottomed out. A Reuters poll showed that activity in China’s manufacturing sector was expected to have contracted for a fifth straight month in December. The official data will be released on Friday, and a similar private survey on Monday.

“Many traders are still on holiday, which is why trading volume is light,” said Shen Weizheng, fund manager at Shanghai-based Ivy Capital.

However, he was optimistic about next year’s performance, saying low valuation of many Hong Kong stocks would attract mainland buyers after China starts the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Connect scheme sometime in 2016.

Most stocks lost ground, with IT among just a few sectors that were in positive territory.